A 30-year-old Hillsboro man who Washington County authorities say fired a gun at a deputy this week had been booked and released from custody five times since 2022, including after he was charged with plying a 12-year-old girl with fentanyl and raping her, court records show.
James L. Tijerina was arrested Tuesday after firing a gun from a 2016 Kia Sorento as he and two others led a Washington County deputy on a high-speed chase in Gaston, according to police and court records.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours as the deputy tried to stop the car and the driver sped off, reaching speeds exceeding 100 mph, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Washington County prosecutors this week asked the court to hold Tijerina in jail without bail, citing what they described as a pattern of ongoing criminal activity. Judges may order defendants held without bail in cases that involve violent felony charges.
The allegations against Tijerina – and his repeated releases from custody – are spelled out in new court filings by Deputy District Attorney Rayney Meisel.
“The Defendant has demonstrated an inability to remain lawful while on release. He is a danger to himself and the community and he should be detained for the safety of all,” she wrote.
Tijerina faces charges related to providing fentanyl to a girl and smoking it with her behind a fast-food restaurant in February 2022, according to court records. The girl overdosed and was hospitalized for several days.
Meisel wrote that the girl told police Tijerina took her with him when he was on the streets and gave her methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl. She said he fired guns and sexually abused her over the course of a week; she turned over videos she took during that time, according to the court record. Meisel’s filing asks the court to set a hearing to reconsider Tijerina’s release.
Tijerina faces a long list of charges tied to the allegations, including second-degree rape, second-degree sexual abuse and delivering methamphetamine to a minor. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was released on his own recognizance in that case and was arrested the following month on allegations of driving a stolen car and first-degree theft. He was again released on his own recognizance.
An arrest warrant was issued after he failed to show up in court. He was arrested and eventually released.
Earlier this year, he was back in custody on additional charges involving the child he allegedly sexually abused. He ended up on house arrest without an ankle monitor.
Tijerina didn’t show up for a hearing last month on the stolen car and theft case, triggering another warrant for his arrest.
That warrant was still active when a deputy encountered Tijerina in the Kia Sorento just before 4 a.m. Tuesday. He and his girlfriend were in the backseat of the car driven by Zachary Phillips, 27, according to Meisel’s court filing.
Tijerina was booked into jail and later found with what appeared to be fentanyl pills, having smuggled them, the prosecutor wrote.
He was arraigned Friday in Washington County Circuit Court and pleaded not guilty to attempted first-degree attempted murder, unlawful use of a weapon and being a felon in possession of a gun.
He remains in jail. A hearing on his possible release is set for next week.
